Toy with attachable ears



April 1967 E. L. MOBLEY. JR

TOY WITH ATTACHABLE EARS Original Filed July 16, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet lFIG. I

INVENTOR.

EDWARD L.M0BLEY,JR.

BY I

April 1967 E. L. MOBLEY, JR 3,313,060

7 TOY WITH ATTACHABLE EARS y Original Filed July 16, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet2 INVENTOR. EDWARD L. MOBLEY, JR.

April 11, 1967 I E. L. MOB-LEY, JR 3,313,060

TOY WITH ATTACHABLE EARS I Original Filed July 16, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR. EDWARD L. MOBLEY, JR.

BYZM f FIG. ll

April 11, 1967 E. MOBLEY, JR 3,313,060

' TOY WITH ATTACHABLE EARS Original Filed July 16, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR. EDWARD L. MOBLEY, JR.

April 11, 1967 E. L. MOBLEY, JR 3,313,060

TOY WITH ATTACHABLE EARS Original Filed July 16, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR. EDWARD L. MOBLEY, JR.

Z f hy United States Patent 3,313,060 TOY WITH ATTACHABLE EARS Edward L.Mobley, Jr., 374 Woodland Ave., Wadsworth, Ohio 44281 Continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 209,958, July 16, 1962. This application July 30,1965, Ser. No. 478,026 1 Claim. (Cl. 46-164) This application is acontinuation of applicants earlier filed application, identified as Ser.No. 209,958 and filed July 16, 1962 This invention relates to a toy,either human or animal, with a hollow, form-retaining elastomeric headand ears of a flexible sheet material. The ears may be of cloth or aplastic composition. They may extend below the neck and lie against thebody of the animal. Preferably, they are of a plush material with theback side of the plush adjacent the head.

The accompanying drawings disclose several preferred methods ofattaching the ears to the head. Other means may be employed. Generally,one end of the ear will be held in an opening in the head, although theears may be glued or otherwise attached to an imperforate head.

In the drawings FIGURE 1 is a front view of the head of a dog;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the same, showing some of the body;

FIGURE 3 is a section on the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a front view of the same head, with ears attached in adifferent manner;

FIGURE 5 is a side View of the same;

FIGURE 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a view of one car before being inserted in a socket in thehead;

FIGURE 8 is a front view of the same head with the ears differentlyattached;

FIGURE 9 is a side view of the same;

FIGURE 10 is a section on the line 10-10 of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is an exploded view of the ear and means for holding the earin the head;

FIGURE 12 is a front view of the same head with the ears differentlyattached;

FIGURE 13 is a side view of the same;

FIGURE 14 is a section on the line 14-14 of FIGURE 13;

FIGURE 15 is a front view of the same head showing different means forattaching the ears;

FIGURE 16 is a side view of the same;

FIGURE 17 is a section on the line 17-17 of FIGURE 16; and

FIGURE 18 is a detail in perspective illustrating the method ofattachment utilized in FIGURES 15-17.

In all of the various views the head is hollow and of an elastromericmaterial such as of a vinyl resin or rubber. It is formed by casting orany other suitable method. Although the head of a dog is shown in eachof the views, the invention is applicable to a boy or girl doll, or thehead of any other animal. The ears of sheet material produce a novel,artistic effect. In this fashion a hollow head devoid of filling isprovided in contrast to a stuffed or rigid type head.

The ears may be of cloth, either woven or knitted or the like.Preferably they are soft, and plush fabric is particularly adapted togive a pleasing artistic effect. Alternatively, they may be made of asheet of plasticized vinyl resin or other plastic such as a sheetdeposited from rubber latex. If cloth ears are used, the edges may beovercast or finished in any other desired manner to prevent raveling.

In FIGURE 1 the head is slit at 5 to produce an open- Patented Apr. 11,1967 ing in which the knot 6 on the end of the ear 7 can be inserted andis then held so firmly that it cannot readily be dislodged by a child.The slit may be a perfectly straight slit or the ends of the slit may befinished with short perpendicular cuts 8 to provide a larger openingthan is available with a straight slit. A narrow slot may be usedinstead of a slit.

The cars 7 are long and the bottom end of each is cut straight across,although it maybe scalloped or cut in any manner. The bottom ends of theears lie against the body of the toy.

In FIGURES 46 the head 10 is formed with two sockets 11 which hold theears. One end of each ear is provided with a pocket 12 which encloses amarble 13 or the like. It is not necessary that the element 13 be round,but this is a preferable shape. As illustrated in the drawings, thepocket is formed by folding one end of the ear over the marble toenclose it, and then binding this folded end at 15 by thread or thelike. The thread may be tied or sewn into place. This end of the earwith the marble in it is simple popped into the socket which has anopening smaller than the diameter of the covered marble so that theopening must be stretched somewhat for insertion and removal of the endof the ear.

FIGURES 8 to 11 illustrate a different embodiment of the invention inwhich some holding means, preferably an elongated holding means isfastened to the end of the car which is inserted in the head. The head20 is slit at 21, for the insertion of the ends of the ears and theholding means. The slit may be perfectly straight, or may end in shortcross slits 22 to facilitate insertion of the holding means. In theillustration, the holding means is a peg 25 and the end 26 of the ear iswrapped around this and held by sewing, gluing or other appropriatemeans. Instead of being wrapped around the pin, the end of the ear mightbe inserted through an opening in the pin. Although a cylindrical pin ismore easily inserted through the slit than any other pin, the pin mayhave a square or hexagonal cross section, or may be of any other desiredshape. It need not be straight. It is not contemplated that the end 26of the ear be removed from the head so that any means for holding theear in the head is satisfactory.

FIGURES 12 to 14 illustrate means for fastening the ears on to the headwithout inserting an end of the sheet material through an opening. Theend 31 of each strip of material 32 is folded back and a button 34 isfastened to this end by sewing or riveting or the like. This button isthen slipped into the slit 36 on each side of the head and holds the earin place.

The method of attachment utilized in the representations of FIGURES 15to 18 employs a button 40, preferably thin and flexible with astiffening rim 41. The opening 42 preferably has a jagged edge as shown.The end 43 of the car 44 is passed through the slit 45 in the head andthen through the opening. The jagged edge grips the ear in a firmembrace. Using a holder with a smooth-edged opening, the opening wouldbe so small that the ear would make a tight fit in it. The button can beof any desired shape and composition.

The invention is not limited to any particular means of attaching theears to a head. The head may be slit or slotted, or be provided with asocket, or otherwise fabricated as is necessary to fasten the ears. Theshape of the cars is not critical, although for one preferred pleasingeffect they are long and relatively narrow and drape against theshoulders of the toy animal. The head is hollow so that access can beobtained to the interior of the head while attaching the ears, exceptwhere the ends of the ears are held in sockets, as illustrated inFIGURES 4 to 6, for example.

While a full and complete description of the invention 3 has been setforth in accordance with the dictates of the patent statutes, it is tobe understood that the invention is not limited to the basic embodimentherein shown. Accordingly, modifications of the invention may beresorted to without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope ofthe appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A toy of the character described, comprising;

(A) a hollow head of resilient elastomeric material devoid of interiorfilling having opposed access openings in the ear region thereof thatcommunicate between the interior and exterior surfaces of said head;

(B) a pair of elongate ears of flexible fabric sheet material eachhaving one end inserted through said opening and being receivedinteriorly of said head;

(C) attachment means (1) connected to the inserted end of each said (D)said interior wall surface of said head contacting at least one portionof said inserted ear and attachment means, whereby withdrawal thereofthrough said opening is restricted;

(E) said ear material being gathered at the area of passage through saidopenings and being enlarged 4. exteriorally of said openings, wherebymovement of said ears relatively of said openings is restricted; (F) thestretchable walls of said openings reacting against said inserted earsand assisting in restricting movement thereof relatively of saidopenings.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 898,018 9/1908Steifi 46-123 1,371,013 3/1921 Wilson. 1,439,846 12/ 1922 Sheldon 46-1641,772,673 8/ 1930 MacDonald. 2,152,349 3 /1939 Flood. 2,261,328 11/1941Baum 46-164 2,636,460 4/ 3 Seiderman. 2,668,394 2/1954 Auzin 46-1353,032,921 5/ 1962 Green 46-135 X 3,037,246 6/ 1962 Cohn.

FOREIGN PATENTS 609,010 11/1960 Canada.

F. BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Examiner;

